'Bag-free day' introduced in govt primary schools in Punjab's Fazilka

Under this initiative, students need not bring school bags on the last Saturday of every month, officials said.

Chandigarh: The Fazilka district administration in Punjab has launched a 'bag-free day' initiative in government primary schools to foster creativity and provide stress-free learning experience for students, officials said on Sunday.

Under this initiative, students need not bring school bags on the last Saturday of every month, they said.

Fazilka District Education Officer Shiv Pal said there will be no regular classes on 'bag-free' days and co-curricular activities such as rafting, storytelling, class discussions and yoga, will be conducted instead of traditional classes, the officials said.

The initiative is aimed at providing a stress-free learning experience, enhance creativity and skills and for holistic development of children, they added.

"Students will not bring school bags on the bag free day. There will be fun-filled activities on that day. Besides, they will be learning how to work in a team, what will be communication skills, what will be good manners and bad manners," Fazilka Deputy Commissioner Senu Duggal said.

The initiative was launched at Government Primary School, Ekta Colony in Abohar a few days ago, the officials said.

"The 'bag-free day' programme is a step towards creating a more engaging and interactive environment for our students. The programme will be a boon for mental and physical health of children," she added.

The district administration is committed to work for a holistic education approach for children that is beyond textbooks, she said.

There are 468 primary schools having around 72,000 students in Fazilka, Pal said.